


Vices

by orphan_account



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Domestic Violence, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Seven Deadly Sins, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 05:28:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9220886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Josh is deadly. Josh is sinful.





	

Tyler figures that everyone has their idiosyncrasies. Their own little quirks and personality traits that distinguish them. Some people are shy, some are outgoing. Some people are book-smart, some are street-smart. Some are modest, and some are cocky.

Tyler thinks Josh fits into the cocky category.

Ever since the day they met, that fateful night in the bar, Josh has been somewhat arrogant. It started when he wouldn’t stop talking about his success, his wealth, his future. All things that didn’t relate to other people, didn’t make him look better than anyone else. It was all okay.

But it’s transformed into something else now. Now, Josh is condescending, especially toward Tyler. Now, Josh points out flaws with Tyler like it’s his fucking job, and he makes sure Tyler knows he’s better. But of course, it’s not only Tyler. It wouldn’t be half as embarrassing if it was only around Tyler, because then it would be private. No one would see. But that’s not the case, and Josh is arrogant in public.

The days when they go out together, when Josh is feeling nice and he wants to go out to eat with Tyler, Tyler would almost rather stay home. Restaurants are where Josh is rude to waiters, where he asks to speak to the manager when they take too long, where he makes comments about how he can do their damn job better and he’s the one paying. Restaurants are where Tyler gets embarrassed to be around Josh, gets red in the face and has to apologize to the people around them as Josh storms out of the building.

Home is only better because it still looks pretty from the outside. But home is still full of Tyler being less-than. In everything he does, Tyler is being told how Josh does it better, how he could do it better.

Tyler dresses up, tries to look nice for Josh. Josh tells him how he bought a suit more expensive than that with his own damn money when he was fucking sixteen.

Tyler makes a meal, tries to cook a nice dinner for them to enjoy together. Josh tells him how he would have used more seasoning.

Tyler doesn’t ever fight back, though. He figures that maybe Josh has the right intentions. Maybe Josh just wants him to be better at what he sets his mind to, maybe Josh is just trying to do what’s best for him, he’s just not good at showing it. And that’s okay. Josh is still trying to help him, even if he puts him down sometimes. But at least he usually just does it at home.

At least no one can see.

* * *

Over the course of their relationship, Tyler has learned that “no” means “yes,” and that “yes” also means “yes,” and that he really just can’t fucking win.

Tyler was surprised the first time it happened. The first time Josh forced him was early on in the relationship, and Tyler was so fucking stupid, so fucking naive to think that Josh wouldn’t do something like that. So of course, he was surprised when Josh pulled his hair and told him not to fight as he pinned him down, pulled down his pants and took advantage of him. Tyler still remembers the pain of being forced into for the first time. He wanted to save himself for someone special, for the right time. And of course, Tyler thought Josh was the one anyway, but it certainly wasn’t the right time. So naturally, Tyler was surprised.

But now? Now, Tyler is used to it. Tyler is used to Josh shoving his hand down his pants just because he wants to feel a dick in his hand that’s not his own. He’s used to the nights when he’s just not in the damn mood, not that he ever really is anymore, and Josh just decides that it doesn’t fucking  _ matter _ . It doesn’t matter that Tyler’s not in the mood, because  _ he  _ is, and he needs somewhere to put his dick.

So Tyler learns to take it. He learns to not fight it, and to pretend like he’s enjoying it. He’s gotten so good at faking it that he should be a damn pornstar. The only problem being, of course, that he never gets off. Josh doesn’t let him. Or rather, he just never sticks around long enough.

On the days when Josh is more gentle, Tyler remembers why he stays. On the days when Josh just rubs his ass through his clothes or just rubs his body anywhere,  _ everywhere _ just because he wants to feel it, Tyler thinks that maybe, it’s okay. Maybe Josh is just into some strange kinds of sex. Maybe he has some sort of kink for treating Tyler the way he does. Maybe, when he spits the venomous chants of  _ take it you fucking whore, take it like the bitch you are _ he really means  _ this is all that will get me off _ . Maybe that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with having a kink, as long as it’s legal and consensual.

At least it’s legal.

* * *

Josh does not drink alcohol. Never has, never will. He has no other excuse for completely losing control of himself. He doesn’t need an excuse, though. He needs to teach Tyler a lesson.

Josh can’t stop himself once he becomes so overcome with rage, he only knows one way to take it out, only knows one person who will take it. Tyler is perfect for the job; he’s small, and weak, perfect to pick up and throw around like some rag-doll bitch. So on the days Josh is mad, on the days Josh comes home and doesn’t bother to take off his shoes before he goes to find Tyler, Tyler just takes it.

He sits there, and he takes it, and he waits for it to be over. Josh doesn’t really punch, he much prefers pushing Tyler into things and slapping him. He likes the sound of his palm colliding with Tyler’s pale cheek, likes the way it leaves a bright red handprint like a painting, he’s fucking Picasso. He likes pushing Tyler into dressers and furniture, likes to watch things fall down all around them with the force that he pushes Tyler with. Then he likes to make Tyler clean it all up after.

Josh doesn’t stop to think for a minute if there are better ways to get his anger out. Why would he when it feels so good? It feels so good to get all of that anger out, feels so good to take Tyler’s clothes off after and see all the bruises on his back. It feels so good to touch them and watch Tyler shiver away, only to hold him back in his place. It all feels so fucking good. So why would he get his anger out in any other way?

Tyler knows he deserves it. Sure, it’s crossed his mind that Josh gets mad really quickly. He’s never seen someone else get so angry in such a short span of time. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so fucking scary. But he knows he does everything wrong. He knows he should come home on time when he goes out. He knows he should clean up the house after a night of Josh’s ministrations. He knows he should cook meals for when Josh comes home. But sometimes he forgets. And when you forget to do things you’re supposed to do, you get punished, right? Yes, it makes sense. Tyler deserves it. Josh is just trying to keep him in line. 

Tyler is appreciative. Josh loves him. Josh loves him, because Josh is willing to put his hands on him. Completely sober, too. If he’s willing to take the risk of putting his hands on him, that must mean he’s willing to get in trouble for it, he’s willing to go to jail for it. Josh is willing to go to jail for Tyler. He must really love him. 

So, yeah. It hurts. And, yeah. It’s uncomfortable. But at least Josh loves him, and at least Josh wouldn’t kill him.

At least he’s not dead.

* * *

Tyler hates going to parties. It’s not because he doesn’t like the people, or that he doesn’t like socializing when he gets the chance. It’s the houses  _ themselves _ he hates. He hates them because Josh is friends with wealthy people, and wealthy people have nice things in nice houses, which makes Josh very jealous.

Tyler recalls a house party they went to last year. Josh spent the whole night making comments on the lovely music system of the house. How it would be so nice to be able to have that, but having a boyfriend with a just a part-time job wouldn’t cut it. Comments that were always about Tyler, but never directed at him. That’s how Josh wins. He lets Tyler know he’s talking shit about him, but doesn't actually say it to him.

At another house party, Josh wasn’t even jealous of the house or the furnishings. He was jealous of the couple that was hosting. Josh complimented them endlessly on how beautiful her ring was, how perfect they were for each other. Tyler knew that wasn’t the case. He knew the couple was battling endlessly in more ways than one, but didn’t dare speak up. He just continued to listen to Josh talk about him like he wasn’t right fucking there, saying how he wasn’t sure he would ever marry.

Tyler doesn’t know why Josh continues to accept house party invitations. He doesn’t understand why he purposely puts himself in situations where gets jealous, feels sorry for himself and his relationship. Tyler offered to stay home from a party once, but that didn’t go over well. No, that wouldn’t do, because if Tyler wasn’t around, how would Josh let him know that he was jealous of something? No, Tyler always has to come with him.

Tyler also doesn’t know why Josh continues to accept house party invitations because afterwards, he never talks to Tyler. On drives home, they sit in tense, uncomfortable silence as they reflect on how the night had gone. If Tyler dares speak up, he gets a suffocating hand over his mouth followed by more silence. When they get home, Josh goes straight to bed, slams the bedroom door behind him, and doesn’t let Tyler in. Tyler hates house parties because on those nights, he sleeps on the couch. And the couch is uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as Josh’s silence.

But Tyler takes it like he always does. He lets Josh be jealous of what others have, be it a house or a car or a real love, and he just takes it. Surely, all relationships can be improved upon. Even that couple that Josh thought was perfect had some improving to do. So when Josh gets jealous, he’s really only looking for ways to improve their relationship. Clearly, that’s healthy. At least Josh is trying.

At least he cares.

* * *

Josh has always been bigger than Tyler. In the beginning of their relationship, Josh was fucking  _ ripped _ . He was all big, muscled arms that Tyler used to melt over. He was washboard abs that Tyler would lick with pleasure.

But lately, Tyler has been noticing some  _ change _ . Josh’s body is not like it used to be. He’s losing muscle, but he’s not getting smaller. No, if anything, he’s getting bigger. Any muscle definition that Josh had in his arms, legs, and wherever else is gone, replaced by unfamiliar softness that Tyler knows was never there. Tyler sees Josh naked quite often, and over time, he’s found himself turned off even more each and every time.

He’s not turned off because Josh is gaining weight. He’s dated big guys before, he doesn’t have a problem with body fat. But he has a problem with  _ how _ he’s put on the weight. 

Tyler thinks back to all the times he walks in on Josh sitting on the couch, practically inhaling some shitty food, like an entire bag of chips and he thinks  _ yeah, that makes sense _ . And he thinks back to all the times Josh comes home with some cheap ass fast food instead of real food and he thinks  _ yeah, that makes sense _ . And he thinks back to all the times he wakes up in the middle of the night to hear Josh downstairs rummaging through the fridge and he thinks  _ yeah _ ,  _ that  _ really _ fucking makes sense _ .

Tyler is really struggling to feel attracted to Josh now. He can’t help but feel almost disgusted by him. He can’t feel  _ good _ about being with someone who is actively killing themselves by eating all of this shitty food. It’s taken a toll on him, and there’s nothing he can even do about it. It’s not like he can tell Josh to watch his health or his weight; that would only end in bruises. He can’t exactly break up with him over weight gain; that would make him look shallow. Well, it’s not like he could break up with him anyways.

But Tyler thinks back to all the other times Josh has acted out of character. He likes to live by the idea that no one knows what’s going on inside other people’s heads, so he supposes that he doesn’t know what’s going on inside of Josh’s, either. So maybe Josh is just going through something right now. Yeah, that’s it. Josh is having a hard time with something that Tyler doesn’t know about, so he’s coping with it by eating. As much as Tyler wants to know what it is that he’s dealing with, he doesn’t want to make Josh mad, so he doesn’t push.

So maybe Josh is gaining weight. Who cares? Josh doesn’t seem bothered, and it’s not like it’s anyone else’s business. Josh could be coping with his problems in much more harmful ways, or he could not be coping at all. So at least he’s coping.

At least he’s doing something.

* * *

Tyler remembers the times when he could just go out and pull a five dollar bill out of his pocket to pay for a coffee. He remembers when he could make a purchase that  _ he  _ needed. For  _ himself _ . That doesn’t happen anymore, though. Not when Josh just takes and takes and takes, even when Tyler has nothing left to fucking give.

Tyler has found that whatever Josh has, he always wants more of it. Most significantly: money.

Tyler can’t go five minutes without Josh telling him he needs money to buy something. Or maybe he won’t give a reason, he’ll just say he needs money. But only working part-time, Tyler doesn’t make that much money. He still tries. He tries to buy nice things for Josh and give him the lavish life that he wants. And he tries to give him any cash he has left over but he just _doesn’t fucking have much to give_ _him_. Josh can’t seem to get it through his head that he can’t take money that doesn’t exist.

It’s gotten to the point where Josh has skipped the step of asking Tyler for money, saves himself the labor of talking to him so that he can just take any of Tyler’s checks right out of his hands. He puts most of it in their joint bank account, an account Tyler can’t even get into, and withdraws cash from it as he pleases. But Josh tells him not to worry about the account, it’s not like Tyler can manage money himself, anyways, so why does he need to get into the account?

Tyler sometimes wonders what happened to all the money that Josh has made himself. Josh told him not to worry about money, Josh told him how wealthy and successful he was thanks to his work. Where was all that money now? Surely, Josh wasn’t bankrupt.

And surely, Tyler is right, because Josh is not bankrupt. No, Josh uses his own money to pay for half of the bills, then uses Tyler’s for the other half, and then blows the rest of Tyler’s money on things he doesn’t need. He can never seem to get enough of the material things in life, spends hundreds and hundreds of Tyler’s dollars on useless shit that just takes up space in the house. A new TV, new sofa, new everything that had been working just fine before.

Tyler knows where his money is going. He’s not stupid. He can’t help but feel some twinge of pain when his hard earned money gets taken away by Josh, but he figures that Josh knows what he’s doing. Certainly, Josh is smart with their money. He knows how to manage finances, and he’s saving Tyler the trouble of doing it himself. He’s so thoughtful. And certainly, Tyler should trust Josh. So maybe he buys a couple things that are over the top, but that’s only to make Tyler feel comfortable and cared for. He should be appreciative of the things Josh buys, even if it’s with money that Tyler makes. So at least he’s not buying pointless things.

At least he’s not buying drugs.

* * *

Tyler’s not particularly fond of going out to places with Josh, for more reasons than one. Josh used to take him out all the time; into town, to parties, out to eat. But now, Josh doesn’t seem to do that anymore.

In fact, Josh doesn’t seem to do anything anymore.

Tyler can see that Josh has grown lazy. He lays around the house all day, never doing anything productive or stimulating. And maybe it has to do with the weight gain, maybe he doesn’t have the energy to go out anymore, or he’s too self conscious. Or maybe it’s something else. But whatever it is, Josh just won’t fucking leave the house.

He takes off from work for weeks at a time, and when he does “go back to work,” he’s working from home on his laptop. He does all his shopping online, all from the comfort of his bed.  At first, Tyler doesn’t have a problem with it. Maybe he and Josh can spend more time together, maybe they can get close again. Maybe they can have a more free-flowing relationship, not interrupted by work hours. But he soon finds that this is _not_ the case, and their relationship becomes even less free-flowing. Because Josh wants Tyler home with him at all times, and he doesn’t want Tyler leaving the house unless he goes with him.

It too much convincing and beating for Tyler to be allowed to go to work, even just his part-time job, so he gets too tired of even trying. Josh guilts him into quitting his job, tells him that he’s been making more money anyway, they don’t need it. Tyler knows that’s not true, he knows Josh is just controlling, but he doesn’t say anything. He just opts to do work around the house like Josh asks him to.

Everyday is the same. Tyler wakes up and get out of bed, goes about cooking and cleaning and paying bills, “bitch-work,” as Josh has referred to it as, all while Josh lays in bed- or, if he’s feeling risky- sits on the couch, and watches on. He doesn't offer to help, says he doesn't feel up to it whenever Tyler asks. Whatever the fuck that means.

Constantly being stuck at home gives Tyler plenty of time to think and eventually, he can see that it’s unhealthy. All of it. It’s unhealthy for Josh to put him down all the time, it’s unhealthy for Josh to repeatedly rape him, it’s unhealthy for Josh to beat him, it’s unhealthy for Josh to ignore him, it’s unhealthy for Josh to eat so much, it’s unhealthy for Josh to steal from him, and it’s unhealthy for Josh to never let Tyler leave the house.

And all of a sudden, Tyler is standing at the kitchen sink, a dirty dish in one hand and a sponge in his other when he decides he wants out. He wants to leave, wants to run away, wants to at least get out of the fucking house. But he knows he can’t  _ do _ that. And he knows he’s crying, and he knows that Josh can hear him. He knows that Josh is just sitting there on the couch, ignoring the sound of Tyler’s sobs from the kitchen. He doesn't speak up, doesn’t try to console him. So Tyler just continues washing away at the dishes in the sink, ignores the way his tears make an annoying sounds as they drop into the soapy water. He’s just doing bitch-work for now, but at least he’s doing something productive.

At least the dishes will be clean.


End file.
